posted by Sam Richards
So here’s an article that will surely raise the blood pressure of some of you. It’s about men and sports and accusations of misconduct and women and power and jumping to conclusions. Yeah…all of that.
You really just need to read the article, but before YOU jump to a conclusion, consider how often you do so without knowing all of the facts. In an honest society, one where people actually lived the adage “innocent before proven guilty,” you’d have no opinion when you hear that someone has been accused of some misdeed.
OK…so i just read a bunch of responses to this blog. Please consider the following: imagine how you might engage in unwanted sex (i.e., be “assaulted”) but not immediately say anything because you are trying to convince yourself that what just happened didn’t really happen, that it was really consensual, that you enjoyed it, that it’s not a big deal, and so on. Imagine that you try to supress the experience but then a week or two later realize that you cannot do that. This is extremely common and may be what happened with this woman. I say this because I’m struck by the large number of you who think this woman is “evil” but still don’t know a damn thing about what happened.
Clearly the author of the piece isn’t standing behind the idea that people are innocent until proven guilty; she is allowing her anger to drive her ideas. But then, she makes a provocative point about coming to the defense of people we don’t even know and would never know if we were not celebrity sycophants. (Okay, it’s not really the right word but it feels good.)
In any case, her main idea is one that is worth considering. Why? Just read the comments that are linked to this video:
So now check out the nine comments from this same video that I pulled from the YouTube site:
What a stupid fuckin whore. Bitches like that make it hard for real sexual assault victims to find justice. On top of that, she couldve ruined his life with this lie. If there is justice, this bitch will pay. I dont want her to get hurt, but she should spend time in prison or at least a mental ward.
She did not repor to police because they do a physical exam to confirm her claim and like craigblast said will charge her with a crime if lying. this a bogus claim. nothing can be proved here
This is a bunch of Crap! This was a casual enounter at best between a man an a woman that lead to more. He did nothing wrong but be a popular athlete and she is a gold digger! How lame is that, i was “raped” but i wont report it to police because im afraid the casino will fire me, HAVE A SPINE AND STAND UP FOR YOURSELF IF ITS TRUE
She tells the Hotel Security Guards but didn`t tell the Cops? No why? because she was smart, filing a fake police report is a crime, so what she did was tell the Hotel Security just so she can say she reported the crime. Now after the charges were dismiss she`s trying to save face and make Ben look bad by wanting him to donate money to the Abused women Association. How many women if they were really raped would just want an apology? Or just sue for $400,000, when Ben is worth a $100,000,000?
what is it with americans fucking trying to sue everybody? get your own fucking money stupid woman!
What a bitch trying to set him up like that.
set up!
she must be a browns fan
Civil suits like this should not be a loud [sic] without a criminal trail first.
Stupid fuckin’ whore? Bitch? Wow. Like these people know the truth about what happened. These comments give the author of the article a great deal of credibility. In fact, it seems to reflect exactly what she’s saying.
The topic of famous male athletes and behavior towards women has been an ever growing topic within America for quite some time now. We hear about women who are connected with sports along with those who come out of nowhere “accusing” or “blaming” their “famous hookups” with rape or battery, but we are still always left with the same image and always thinking the same thing…it’s all about money and its probably her fault. I feel like women who choose to engage in activities (sexual or not) with famous athletes that result in an unhappy ending always get the blame for whatever happens. What the problem is, is that if something really serious such as rape occurs, women have to struggle to prove that it really did occur because society automatically assumes that they are a slut looking to get some cash. This situation with Ben Roethlisberger is a perfect example. Just look at the comments left on the YouTube clip. I’m not automatically siding with the woman in this situation but it seems like she doesn’t have a leg to stand on because first, she did not tell anyone as soon as it happened, and second, now it is her word against his. On the flip side, there are women who have taken advantage of famous athletes who have accused them of doing something they didn’t in search of money or even fame, but that should not mean that we stop taking situations like this lightly. Maybe the woman was honest and didn’t say anything due to fear; therefore we shouldn’t just ignore it. Looking at it from another angle, I think a lot of athletes do things they shouldn’t and get off just because of who they are. It seems like now if you are famous and do something you shouldn’t its ok because you will see little or no punishment for your actions. I’m not accusing Ben or any other athlete who has been in similar situations, however an athlete’s career and reputation is much more important obviously then this “random” woman so they would probably want to settle quietly and out of the spotlight. Once again on the other side, it is hard sometimes to believe a woman if she is just looking for an apology or a sum of money but if she has no evidence but knows it happened, what more can she ask for? I don’t know who is right or wrong in this particular situation, and I don’t know if we will ever find out. But I do think that all women need to stop being prejudged when something like this occurs because every situation is different and just because some women choose to lie for the sake of money or fame, not all women are in the category.
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The Youtube video about this article did not give an extreme amount of information, which makes this topic very controversial. I am a woman but some of the facts that were described made me feel bad for the football star. Yes, we don’t really know what had happened and will never know who is really telling the truth. But, some information that was leashed about that article make the women seem very fishy. The fact that she did not go to the police because she was nervous to lose her job just seems peculiar.
If I was put in that position and really got raped, that last thing I would be is nervous about losing my job because I would be so distraught from the incident. Moreover, why was she was worried about losing her job if she knows what really happened was true and could be compensated for it. Although, it looks like I am leaning towards the football player to be innocent and that this occurrence is just being taking way out of proportion, I do not agree with the responses people have posted. I feel it is harsh for individuals to call her names and fuel the debate on sexism. These individuals know as much information as I do; therefore I think it is wrong for them to create this stigma about women and inappropriate behaviors.
This topic of rape has and never will have specific restrictions and regulations. Is it rape when a female takes advantage of a male? Is it rape when someone pins somebody else down just to kiss without consent? This word has been thrown around with so many definitions that have been taking to court. Women have had to fight for their rights for a long period of time. So it is hard for me to say that the word rape is considered equal for men and women.
In our society today, we see professional athletes messing up left and right with drugs, drinking and driving, and sexual assaults. But are these superstar-running machines in jail, prison, and or probation? Yeah these athletes are maybe on probation for a season, or if lucky a game or two. Celebrities and famous competitors usually get the easy way out and it necessarily isn’t fair. Moreover, this famed population knows that they could act in an appalling manner and not consider the consequences because they know they can get out of it.
We can look at both sides of this case and come up with reasons to assume which person is telling the truth. This most definitely is not the fist time a potential victim is making up allegations just to gain publicity, fame or compensation. I would have to say that I don’t have enough evidence to determine a view on this case. I don’t understand why people think they do have enough evidence to quickly hate on the women and make those absurd comments.
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This blog entry brought forth many complicated and intimate emotions. I can understand that in the macho, testosterone driven atmosphere of the sporting world there are often less than appropriate interactions with women on behalf of men, both athletes and spectators. This simple fact, however, does not equate to an across the board generalization of behaviors by male athletes. Yes, there are often stories of male athletes, both collegiate and professional, being accused of rape or sexual harassment. Whether or not the accusations are always legitimate is an entirely different story. There are many complicating factors in situations such as these. For one, evidence can be hard to come by if not immediately reported. Otherwise, the issue turns into a “he said she said” ordeal. In these cases, people are always quick to choose sides, with few desiring to seek out the truth. Adding further complications to these situations are a series of undeniable circumstances. First off, the male athlete in question is usually extremely popular and famous. Women typically are well aware of who the male is in these situations. Another side issue, while not true for all women or even the majority, is that these superstar athletes often times have “groupies,” for lack of a better word. There are plenty of women who try to do whatever they can to get with these guys, simply because of their fame. Secondly, these guys are typically extremely wealthy, and therefore have a lot to lose, which the women are also usually well aware of. Lastly, in these situations between male athletes and women, the activities usually take place in private; there are no witnesses and no concrete evidence in many cases, leading to a question of who is more trustworthy. These simple facts already tip the scales in favor of the athletes, who just have to paint the women as aggressive gold diggers. When it comes to these cases, things get heated and complicated quickly. Without the presence of hard evidence, the athlete just needs to portray the woman as trying to get to his money, and the woman has nothing to fall back on other than her constant accusations, and at best a settlement with the athlete simply so the whole thing will go away. It is hard to think and act unbiased when there are so many preconceived notions floating around about both parties. These cases are especially difficult and without the popular support of the athlete also applied to the woman, it can be hard for her to gain support against such unfavorable odds. One never wants to judge either party, whether the male athlete is lying or innocent or the female accuser is lying or a victim, until the justice system has a chance to complete its due process.
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After reading the article, and watching the video as well as the posts accompanying it, I cannot say I completely agree with either, very extreme, view provided. While I find the video comments atrocious, I am not going to jump on the “its always the guys fault” train either. The truth is, I really do not believe that anyone has a right to have an opinion in this case. These people have no idea what truly happened. The only people who know the truth are the two people involved in the incident. Had this not occurred with a man in the public eye, no one would be talking about this issue at all. In fact, I am tempted to believe that if this had happened in some normal town between two ordinary people, the public would tend to take the woman’s side. The woman usually seen as “innocent” and “docile” in many traditional views would be easily categorized as the victim. However, since the man accused of committing this crime is a celebrity who many men look up to, people refuse to see that this “superstar” human is less than perfect, and maybe, even a terrible person. If this girl was really raped, I cannot even imagine the hurt that she experiences over and over when she sees the horrible and ignorant things people are writing about her. To be honest, if she was not abused in some way, why would she only request an apology and a donation to a charity? If she was after his money wouldn’t she try to get a large sum for herself? I have to wonder what these people with such incredibly hurtful things to say about this woman would think if their daughter, sister, mother or wife was raped by a professional athlete. Would she be “marring” the superbowl? Would she be a “stupid fuckin whore”? I have to think not. Before people make these insensitive, uneducated comments, they should really take a step back and remember that this could happen to anyone, even someone they know and love, and they need to think long and hard about what they would want people to say about the women in their lives. The people commenting on this seem to think this woman shied away from contacting the police because they would find out she was lying. Did they ever stop to consider she was afraid of taking her assault public for fear of reactions like theirs? Maybe, just maybe, this woman did not want to be torn to shreds by people who not only did not know the truth of what happened, but did not know HER. Yes, maybe she is lying, but you really have to wonder, who in the world would expose themselves to the extreme criticism of an unknowing public to make a football player throw some money at a charity?
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Journal 9
In class Sam has asked us, if we could adopt a children from a different back ground or use artificial incrimination with a sperm of a person of different race to my. I agree with Sam, most of us said that it would make us uncomfortable and that this was because of the child. However the history of two persons with different ancestors’ groups marring and having kids does not have to do anything with the discussion in class. The marriage between couples of different back grounds is what has happened thought out the history of this country. Most people in the United States are a mixture of one or more different races. I came from Mexico and in seven years that I have lived in the United States I have never heard a person say, I am a pure race. On the other hand, whenever I ask these questions, I receive answers, such as: I half English and half Italian. So, taking this in consideration, why the different between is and African American and a white person that is already a mixture of different ethnic groups. Going back to the conversation that we have in class, I believe is different to have parents from two different ancestry groups, than to have parents that don’t look like you at all. However, I believe that there are certain traumas along with these situations. But, come on… Every child face difficulties during infancy, mainly because they discovering their own character and how to fit into society.
On the other hand and coming back to what the blog says, I agree with all those people that say that the judge in racist. He has not right to decide who marries who. The consequences of the marriage and how it will turn out is only business of the couples that are going to get married.
Furthermore, I believe that the same judge has married people with different ancestry and he did not even notice. Besides, is not in the business of a judge not even a priest the love between the persons they are marring.
In addition, it is necessary to mention that love does not have an age or a color, what a person sees in others is the being that they are. Many people may oppose to certain relations, but everybody should pick the person who he/she want to be the rest of his/her life. Be sides I think that since these two persons grew up together in the same neighborhood, their experiences growing up are similar. I believe that is not the race is how you are brought up by your parents. In this situation I believe that a marriage with the same culture and different race has more possibilities of succeed in comparison with one of the same race, but different customs.
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I’m not gonna lie, when I first heard that Ben Roethisberger was being charged and sued with rape charges I didn’t believe it. I had the same thoughts as many Steelers fans.. the girl is just trying to get his money, she’s a gold digger, etc etc. However, my thoughts changed when I talked to my friend from a suburb of Pittsburgh. She worked at a restaurant as a waitress where “Big Ben” frequented with his friends. She told me how he was a jerk and acted like he could do anything because of his celebrity status. He even asked the manager to let my friend wait on him instead of the male waiter that was assigned his table. Obviously the manager agreed because what Ben wants, Ben gets. So my friend Michelle ended up waiting on his table and he was extremely creepy and making her feel uncomfortable. He asked her to go out for drinks later and when she told him she was 19 he proceeded to tell the manager that he wanted the other waiter back…oh and she didn’t even get the HUGE tip that he left (bummer). So when I heard this story, my thoughts on the situation changed. I had no doubt in my mind that he did it. Even if she didn’t come forward with the charges right away, what Sam said in the blog is very common. Many women wait because they try to justify it in their minds. I could see how that Harrah’s employee could say to the girl that she should be happy to have had sex with the quarterback of the super bowl winning Steelers. This makes me sick. Athletes, as well as many other celebrities get out of so many things because of their wealth and celebrity status. Remember the Kobe Bryant rape case as well? He walked away with nothing but embarrassment and disapproval from his wife. Athletes get this attitude that they can do whatever they want with women because, unfortunately, many women will willingly throw themselves on them. But there are those women who won’t and the athlete sees that and wonders why. “Why wouldn’t she wanna get with me, I’m so and so..” So then they proceed to force it. I think that in any case like this the victims should be treated like victims and the person who is being accused needs to be treated like any other person, regardless of their status in society. I also agree that people who are fans of the sports team that the accused athlete plays for rarely ever listens to the facts but instead, focuses on the fact that, God forbid, the athlete misses a few games due to trials. They are so wrapped up in their own entertainment needs that they don’t take the time to read the facts, they are just automatically bashing the accuser, calling them whores and gold diggers.
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This news story is moronic. Not because I think the woman is doing some scam its just because she has no case at all at this point. If she had done it properly had the rape kit done then filed charges she would have had a better chance. But right now she has no evidence of anything happening according to the news broadcast. So at this point I do have to agree that the woman is just doing this to ruin his public image. This is why the case was not brought to court because there is no way that she could win it at this point. So I don’t know if this woman is just doing this to get a quick fix of cash or actually had something happen to her but she’s never going to see a dime unless he decideds to admit it. Also this happens way too much with people of power. Because of the public eye or worry of consequences from society women don’t press for charges for things like sexual assault and rape. The system is just generally flawed with the whole rape thing. Unless rape occurs in a back alley some where it’s all he said she said. This can’t really cause a person to be charged of a crime by just hearing from on person’s point of view. So there is no real way of proving anything unless a rape kit is taken right after the action and even then a lawyer has to prove that it wasn’t just that it got rough but actually forced. I’ve had a person experience with one of my friends. They were raped and because of social pressure and lack of police support they dropped the charges. The social influence persecutes people for saying anything against people who bring up a notion that an important figure could do something wrong. It’s so extreme that people have stopped to speak out. Also the lack of polices support. From the experience where I helped my friend they cops just thought she was a whore who was trying to get some media. If the police don’t even believe in the people who are trying to get justice how these people are suppose to stand up for themselves. While on the other hand there are women out there who just say they were raped to get attention and try to get some quick money out of men. This is the problem of the justice system and this crime. The chances to prove this crime beyond a reasonable doubt takes a lot of work which in some cases it even gets to the level of impossible to prove. That is the sad state this crime is in. hopefully one day our justice system will actually send guilty people away and keep the innocent out of jail and safe.
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I need all Pittsburg steelers fans to stop commenting on this blog. Most of those comments were made by Pittsburg steelers fans that are afraid of losing their star quarterback. Come on people put the sports aside this women is a human things happen but to say that Ben is perfect and can’t do things like this is far farced. I am very aware of the amount of gold digging women that take advantage of sports athletes but the players are the ones who allow this to happen. The players are aware of women that may try to falsely accuse them of things such as rape but they still continue to have sex with these women and let them into their hotel rooms, when they know they have a wife sitting home or a girlfriend. I believe it goes both ways I somewhat believe that it is the players fault that they are put into this predicament.
When the players get into the NFL they know what comes along with this and they choose that life. I’m not saying that the women is lying nor am I saying that she is telling the truth I’m just saying be open-minded and don’t be closed minded because this may be your teams quarterback. There is a life beyond football and I don’t think this women need to be disrespected the way that she is. Who can you call her a liar if you don’t truly know the whole story. Reading the article the women states that she did not report this to the police because she was afraid that the hotel would not believe her and would believe Ben and fire her. This is very likely; I say this because hotels love for big celebrity names to come stay at their hotel. If they were to believe the women then less star names would come to that hotel and they would be negativity reflected.
So the easiest thing to do would be to get rid of this woman and not have to deal with this case. This just tells you about this hotel and how they try to protect athletes. As soon as the women told the hotel they should of contacted the police no matter if she wanted it or not. Then it’s people who are calling her a gold digger. This is crazy what gold did she dig. She’s getting called whores and all types of other things and her reputation is being torn to sheds. The fact that she said if the player admits to the raping and say’s sorry then she will drop the charges proves that she does not want the money. This really disappoints me to see people reacting this way to this case. People need to think and try to put their selves and this situation.
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I’m guilty; I was asked in the article to, “consider how often you do so (jump to conclusions) without knowing all of the facts.” I do it all the time. It’s not something I’m proud of but it is something that I, like many other people, do far too often. I’ll even admit that when I read the story about Roethlisberger my first reaction was, “Oh, just another girl trying to exploit an athlete.” If that isn’t ignorance then I don’t know what is. But was I wrong?
I was wrong to jump to conclusions. I didn’t give the accuser the benefit of the doubt, nor did I care to seek the necessary information to formulate an educated opinion. But, like most people I get sucked up in the Pro athlete drama and have seen this situation many times before and they all seem to end with the same or similar results. **Disclaimer** I’m not saying the results are correct, and I’m not saying I agree with the outcome every time. But with the outcomes always being the same, it is easy for me, and other people including, like the author of the blog said, athletes themselves to think that it’s ok, and there is never usually a crime. Right or wrong in the outcome, these situations always seem to lead to an apology and the notion that the girl wasn’t really the victim of a crime but the stem of a gimmick for money or attention.
I still haven’t researched the particular case discussed in the article so it’s difficult for me not to come to the conclusion that this woman got caught up in her web of lies. The author makes good points in saying that women are sometimes slow to report sexual assault because women try to convince themselves that, “what just happened didn’t really happen, that it was really consensual, that you enjoyed it, that it’s not a big deal, and so on.” In the additional article from the link, the author of that piece makes a good point using the girl from the University of Colorado Football Team. She says, “I meet people who just hear my name and hate me, simply because I made ‘their’ football team look bad.”
This is where my uncertainty in the Ben Roethlisberger case comes in and where I ask myself if I was really wrong about the conclusion I jumped to. This case is known nationwide, so in my opinion, regardless of the outcome, the victim, in the eyes of Steelers and Roethlisberger fans has already tarnished their names and organization. The victim is already suing Harrah’s and she has already claimed sexual assault. So what is she losing by following through on her case other? She is already looked down upon by skeptics and crazed fans, who, regardless of if she followed through or not, are going to hate her. So, if she was telling the truth about what happened she would get justice, the perpetrator of the crime would be reprimanded, her employer would get in trouble for trying to cover it up and overall justice would be served.
I mean, if I was a victim that’s what I would want. But no, she is just asking for an apology? That’s like working hard all semester and saying, well I only need a C in this class so just give me that. I can only think of one logical reason she would withdraw her accusations and ask for an apology; it really was consensual so if it went to trial the facts would come out and she would be legally known as a liar. It’s hard for me, even after looking at the reasons why someone wouldn’t report a crime right away, and reasons for wanting to not follow through on the case against a celebrity, to think she isn’t lying or embellishing to some extent. Maybe I’m right, but then again, maybe I’m just one of those apologists.
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The first thing that game to my mind when I was first introduced to this story was this girl is a gold digger. But everyone can have their opinions, but Sam is right you never really know what happened. The only people that know what really went down that evening at harrahs are Ben and the worker. But the story also looks really bad how the girl set it up. This is a classic “hey im a gold digger” lets try and make some quick money and ruin a mans life. Everyone in the country knew what this girl was trying to do. This is a clear representation of where we are as a society. We take pleasure in discrediting and insulting people we don’t know who have differing opinions, although we have to take into account that when it come to the field of sports we can get pretty heated, after all you are messing with the reigning super bowl champions, this is without a doubt a special case. It is true that the world of sports is dominated by the male point of view. This should change, but as long as there are rich young athletes and people who are willing to take a chance we will always see gold-diggers. Don hate the players hate the game they say, I just hope we have good referees calling this particular game so that people who are willing to play this game get busted and pay for taking this chance at another person’s hard work and earned labor. I also think that the tone of the writer for the article was completely inappropriate. It’s hard to read and to even take it seriously when you can blatantly see that the person’s anger is coming across so clearly. There is no kind of objectivity held in the piece. This does not help the argument or the debate. Now, I don’t support giving up accusers’ names, but the system followed by the AP is tough on the accused. The reason people are really upset about this, at least speaking for myself and those who watch sports with me, is that if this woman isn’t lying, she has certainly built a case against herself in the court of public opinion with her new “just tell the truth and I’ll let it slide” stance. She knows she can’t win. It just looks like she wants to keep her pride and smear Roethlisberger.I hope my opinion hasn’t been too biased, but just looking at this case and other cases like it, such as Michael Irvin’s in the 90’s and the recent Duke Lacrosse scandal, the burden of proof is on the accuser, and I just don’t see any. I see very little evidence being presented and I believe the general public feels the same way. The angry over-the-top writer of the sample piece presented here needs to take a step back
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This is one of the situations that all of us subconsciously take sides depending on how much we like or dislike the celebrity. I am a huge Steelers fan, so the first though that is going through my mine is there is no way the Big Ben did what he did. Many questions are surfacing regarding the even such as: is she trying to make money? Did she want the couple minutes of fame? (many people will go to the extreme for this one), why would Big Ben want to do something like that?…with that kind of women? Etc. While all of these thoughts are in my mind, I can understand why someone else who is not a Rothlisberger’s fan would disagree with my questions. They probably are very upset and have their own set of questions such as: Does Ben think that he will get away with whatever he chooses to do? Does he think that he is better than everyone else just because he is good at throwing a ball? Etc.
After analyzing the situation, I find myself very confuse about everything. I am no longer bias about the event because I can put myself in that woman’s shoes and would probably react the same way that she did. I am a bit skeptical about the call for hotel security but not the police; however, it is very understandable in her situation for not contacting the police.
So with everything being said, I cannot take any sides because there is really no hard evidence provided on the blog. I am however, a bit concern with all of the people who are really jumping to conclusion WITHOUT reevaluating the situation. I am guilty of taking side on my first reaction and am subconsciously; however, I actually thought about it afterwards and came back into my senses. I think that everyone is very quick to judge just because Ben is a celebrity. The media is mainly the cause of all of these crazy ideas that have engraved into the mind of our society. The media have put the images of celebrities into our heads as wholesome and wonderful beings. We often forget that they are people who just happen to have some sort of entertaining gifts.
I think that all of us need to think about the whole situation before we open our mouths and make comments that make us seem like ignorant beings. It will be almost impossible for us to judge and feel the way that the victim feels without putting ourselves into the victim’s shoes. We need to understand that when a dramatic event happens such as rape, it can cloud someone’s judgment of what to do. When all else fails, we should use what needed to be used in the first place to make your judgment and that is LOGIC!
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I am torn between two responses here. The author of the article does have some fantastic points about how these superstars are protected from prosecution, bit on the other hand how can one distinguish between a legitimate rape and a gold digger? It is tough to get all of the facts also. Think about the lawyers that are behind these superstars and then think about a single nobody trying to take them on. It is horrible to see some of the youtube responses to this woman about the situation, but they do bring up some good points. The woman did wait a long time before filing a formal police report and there are quite a few issues that seem fuzzy. I had heard of the case earlier this summer when it happened and I tried to stay neutral until I had enough of the facts to make a proper conclusion, but I understand it is easy to jump to a conclusion well before you have everything. Plus with all of the weird items that the woman was requesting it really made the whole story seem really fishy. But this doesn’t change the fact of the blog topic. I do feel that superstars should be held accountable for what they have done. And may time these superstars can avoid a bad situation if they just make sure to cover their bases and be careful. It is tough to pick a side to this topic when each case is so unique to the situation and the history of the person.
This also brings up some other key issues that need to be taken into account. It is very hard to charge someone with a crime when they have some much money and some many power resources. Think about this with any wealthy person. Would Donald Trump be a tough person to fight in any legal battle? How about the President of the United State, cough cough Bill cough? It is very easy to make someone look like they are a bad person when there are so many wealthy and powerful people backing their opposition. Money makes the world go round, this is something I have taken to heart for a long time.
This blog also brings up another point. Earlier this week in the Collegian there was an article about a fraternity president being charge with indecent exposure and providing alcohol to a minor. I won’t go into all of the detail about the article, you can check the whole article out at http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/10/28/frat_president_charged_in_inde.aspx, but in short the president was talking with a girl at a different frat party. They hit it off and went to his frat to talk and drink more. They went to his room where she passed out. When she awoke she found several opened condoms and the president masturbating near her. The girl could not recall anything from the night after they went to the room. The president confirmed that they did not have sex. Now I understand some of the charges on this gentleman and they could be worse, but he was fully cooperative with the police and everything. Also the girl will probably get off with nothing but a bad experience. This seems unfair to me because it is so easy for a woman to scream rape about something that might not have technically been rape in the first place but rather a bad night drinking with some very regrettable mistakes. As professor Frank Clemente says, “Build your own rules for drinking and stick to them, because you can’t trust yourself or others after you have started.”
I think it is very easy to cause problems before one has all of the information. I do think that people in the spotlight should be very careful about what they do. I also feel that if people cry wolf enough then eventually others will stop listening. It is very easy to draw conclusions before all of the information is properly laid out and I believe that this is one of the reasons that Sam posted this blog. Maybe it will help others to think about their own actions and words before causing damage to others. And maybe it will help people think before they act and due something stupid.
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I think rape cases are always a difficult situation when it comes to proving the rapist is guilty, and the victim is telling the truth. Thus it is ten times harder to solve when the alleged rapist is a celebrity, and the case is all over the news. Roethlisberger is either innocent or guilty and does not want to say so. And he has plenty of motives to lie about his innocence. If you think about it, maybe Roethlisberger would not hesitate to comply to her demands of apology if he were not famous and had the whole world listening to his denials while supporting his innocence automatically. He would lose a lot of face if he were to admit he did it and apologize now. For the sake of his image and career, he has to be under a lot of pressure to proclaim his innocence.
When you consider the victim’s story, her statements do make sense. Wouldn’t many people be afraid to report a crime to the police when the perpetrator is a celebrity? It’s clear that people like Roethlisberger have many fans who worship them like heroes, and couldn’t someone easily be fired at a job for not treating a celebrity like him the right way? The victim’s claim in this case just demonstrates the problem in a society where sports heroes and the like can easily get away with crime without any consequences. If he did rape her, what else has he gotten away with? I think it takes guts for her to file rape charges against Roethlisberger because it looks like most people will just side with the football player and not even bother to consider both sides. As in the Youtube comments, one person called her a “stupid whore,” and many others had similar insults to say. I think this victim has to unfairly deal with a lot more resistance and controversy than a rape crime between non-celebrities.
It’s true that she could just be lying and milking the circumstances to get his money or a lot of attention. But it isn’t fair that people refuse to acknowledge the possibility that she is telling the truth, and Roethlisberger IS a rapist. Obviously it is an unpleasant situation, as was the case Katie Hnida who was instantly hated for giving a bad name to a football player. Sports heroes and celebrities should not be worshipped to the point where people let them do whatever they want. Some people are way too obsessed with certain celebrities, and somehow society needs to tone this down. It gets to the point where we don’t see them as real people, but rather idols who have the characteristics we want them to have.
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Ok this week I decided to mix it up. I’m not even actually responding to any of the topics online. I am actually going to talk about class. I really love the class, but at sometimes it really boils my blood. Sure we learn interesting things and we get to hear all kinds of opinions that we might never hear otherwise but my issue comes in when we have comments. Now it’s not that I am saying we shouldn’t have comments but the class is a lecture and not a discussion group. I would be happy if it were one or the other. Sure I love posing questions and comments to Sam and I frequently do but what pisses me off is when somebody just raises their hand and says something completely retarded and no one gets a chance to say anything about it.
We had an awesome discussion in class Thursday everyone was really getting into the subject. I made a few comments and so did a few others about the comparison between the black/brown struggle and the gay struggle. It was engaging and respectful, but then somebody behind me made in my opinion a completely stupid comment. We were speaking about how gays can just “pretend” to be straight and take a day off from the discrimination. Now I agree that they shouldn’t have to, but my point is that they can turn off the hate if they act the part. So some girl behind me says well black people don’t have it nearly as bad because nobody is prejudiced against black people and we just stop “acting ghetto”. What in the blue hell is that about? To me that just furthered my point that black people are just as far in the closet about being themselves as are gay people. Acting ghetto. What the fuck. I was soo pissed when she said that and I was glad that the dude had taken the mic by that point. She represents the exact attitude that I was trying to describe. If I act the way I want to act the way I was brought up then I’m ghetto. So as I tried to explain for black people to get anywhere other than where they grew up they have to change themselves and become “white” so they can get ahead. We have to write well, and speak well, and dress well. At least that’s what we call it. Really though just think about it, you could easily replace “well” with “white”. We have to speak the way white people speak and write the way white people write.
It’s crazy, I mean in reality I’m not this militant and radical. I understand the way things are and I don’t sit and dwell on how bad it sucks instead I work to do what I can so that I can grab a spot on top of the hill, then I can speak the way I want to. So don’t let this rant give you permission to label me as an angry black guy. Also I’m not arguing who’s struggle is worse, because I absolutely agree that every struggle is a bad struggle. But do me a favor and don’t ever grab a mic and try to belittle the black struggle, that’s not a good thing. Just saying.
And that’s the bottom line because STONE COLD said so…
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This is a story we see far too often in the media with athletes and celebrities. I am not saying that if allegations are true that a famous person should not be persecuted, but I feel that in most instances (with celebrities and athletes) that the woman is typically looking for money. Though the man that stated his opinion may be offensive, he is somewhat right. He goes about it in the wrong way, but the underlying principles of what he is saying are true. “How many women if they were really raped would just want an apology? Or just sue for $400,000?” This is seen a lot, but in most instances it is someone looking to make a quick buck. As a former athlete for Penn State I have seen this happen a lot. Take Austin Scott for example. A woman claimed that he raped her and he was not even famous yet. They found out that she was lying and the charges were dropped. That simple lie ruined that kid’s life. Every NFL scout wrote him off and assumed he was guilty all because some girl was trying to take the easy way out. “This kind of public blowback isn’t just re-traumatizing for the victim — it impacts our ability to bring rapists to justice. After all, judges and juries live in the same sports culture we do — and participate in it themselves to varying degrees. So it’s not hard to guess why a study by USA Today in the wake of the Kobe Bryant rape trial found that athletes charged with rape were far less likely to be convicted or even agree to a plea deal than non-athletes. And the more athletes get away with rape, the more likely they are to rape again, and the more likely other athletes are to see it as an appealing act with few consequences.” The author of this article is too critical of the situation. I am not condoning rape what so ever. What I am saying is that 99 percent of the time it is not the case of the athlete raping a woman; it is the woman looking to make some fast cash. Let’s be honest, we all know that girls throw themselves at famous people all the time. How many girls have you met that have celebrity crushes that, if they met, would try to have relations with that person? My friend is currently dating a professional athlete. It would be extremely easy for her to accuse him of rape, bring it to the media, and make that person out to be the bad guy just to make some money. I’m not saying athletes or celebrities always get off the hook (nor should they), but how realistic are the accusations?
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I have incredibly mixed feelings about the story regarding Big Ben’s accuser. I guess I should begin by just coming out and admitting that I am a Steelers fan. Always have been, always will be. So yes, some of my opinions may admittedly be biased.
However, in the same respect, I am a woman and therefore can at least hypothetically put myself in the shoes of a woman experiencing such a horrible crime.
With all of that out of the way, this entire story of he-said she-said is really no different than the many of those we have heard before…except for the fact the accused in this case is a star NFL Quarterback. When any crime involves someone of the status like that of Ben Roethlisberger, it is certain to generate attention in a way unlike one that involves “normal people.”
As a result, we, the public, begin to question the motives of the parties involved. Obviously Ben has nothing to gain and everything to lose, but the accuser appears to at least have more to gain than lose.
Ok so before you lump in the group of fans angry that their quarterback may potentially be put on trial, let me once again state that I can only imagine the horrors that would come along with such an awful act. If something like this were to happen to me or someone I really cared about, I would be devastated beyond belief. Words don’t even begin to describe how terrifying of a thought it is to even imagine it.
But her story doesn’t seem to add up. If you have the courage to come out to the entire world and state that this man raped you, stick to it. You don’t settle for anything less than absolute justice to make sure your attacker cannot hurt another woman ever again.
With that in mind, you don’t settle for making sure he pays a hefty sum to a charity and call it a day. What justice has been achieved in there? What was the purpose in making such a to-do of a scandal you were willing to sweep under the rug in the first place?
These are just a few of many questions I would love to have answered by this woman. I do not doubt that there may still be some truth to her story and that Ben Roethlisberger may in fact have gone too far. But the timing of the accusation (a year or so after it happened), the agreeing to having her name published across the country, and the charges that were brought but simply willing to be dropped by a simple donation just do not add up to me. If someone commits a crime against you, especially a heinous crime like rape, if you are going to seek justice you are going to seek it all the way. Period.
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Rape. What a subject. It is hard to judge woman on rape claims. In the end, only those two people in the room know
what really happened. My first comment to this blog is that no one can be too harsh on this woman. They should not call her bitch or whore because what do they know about what really happened. Could you imagine being raped? Being scared, alone, and feeling like a piece of garbage that someone used and threw away. So, then these people want to insult her. They took the side of a famous football player, who they also do not know. They have no idea what kind of person he is. Besides a couple press conferences, all he does for a living is run around and tackle other men. So how can we really judge her? My problem with this situation is that she is attacking a man later. She could have not asked for the money and just ask him to donate money to fund. But she did not, she put him in a trap. Either way she wins. He admits on that he raped her or she gets a lot of money. But for him to admit this rape claim (whether true or not) would be horrible, and therefore it is a trap. It would be worse for his
carrier to admit to this than pay her the money. That is why there are so many angry feelings toward her.
Rape is also a private issue. How hard must it have been to confront one of the most famous people in football. She had to risk her job to state what happened in that room that night. She knows that she can make a lot of money from this, but it is very difficult to admit that you have been raped or even to admit that a famous person raped you. To waltz into a hospital and try to explain to a doctor and police what happened, after being traumatized, that is difficult. I feel like men really cannot judge in this situation, Even though men can be raped, the effect on them would not be the same as woman. Rape is a very traumatic experience, and those who do not have first hand experience really should not judge Not only that, but rape can be traumatizing. so even though she took so long, ma bye she had to talk to a therapist. It is impossible for us to judge what has happened in the rape cases. In the end, unless there are scars, bruises, or other proof of rape besides semen, how can one say what went on.Therefore no matter what, there is really no one that can judge this woman, only the football player and her know what really went happened that night.
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After reading the blog post entitled, “Men of the World Unite…Before It’s Too Late!” and the accompanying article, I am still not sure where I stand on this topic. No one, except for Ben Roethlisberger and the female accuser know what actually transpired between them. It is completely wrong for those posters to call the accuser a bitch, whore, or any other derogatory word. These people do not know this woman. They do not know a single thing about her or what happened between her and Roethlisberger and it is not right that they would jump down her throat like that. With that being said, however, I do think there is something a little fishy about the accuser’s story. If she honestly felt she was raped or sexually assaulted in any way, she should not have waited weeks to go to the police and report the incident. I do not buy the excuse that she needed time to process what had happened to her. If she felt she was wronged in any way, then that is something that should have been reported immediately. I am in no way an apologist for athletes, I actually think they get away with much more than they should. But I also think that there are many women out there who would definitely try to take advantage of a sexual situation with an athlete. It is well known that there are certain types of women who hang around and do things with athletes, solely because they play sports professionally and are wealthy. Now, I am sure that many of these women are also gold diggers and could potentially cause problems for athletes by threatening them. It does not take much for a woman to say to an athlete, “I will tell the police you raped me unless you pay me this amount of money.” Again, I do not know the specifics of the Roethlisberger case, but I would venture to guess that gold digging women take advantage of professional athletes more than any of us think.
I do not mean to be sexist, but I do not think it is right that women have the power to ruin a man’s reputation based on false accusations. I have a good friend who had been dating a girl for quite a while. Not too long after they had sex together, which was completely consensual, they got into a fight. The girl, who by many accounts is crazy, threatened her boyfriend and said she was going to tell her parents that he raped her. Ultimately nothing ended up materializing, but this just shows how much power a woman can have. False accusations on the part of an emotionally unstable woman can ruin a man’s reputation. That is why I am not surprised the majority of men bashed the woman in this article.
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Wow, a blog post that hits home to the state of Pennsylvania and its sports teams. Now Pennsylvania carries some of the most passionate fans in the country in regards to their teams. Now, we can’t let our own bias interfere with the facts and accusations in this story. I think it is definitely true that today’s athletes “get away with murder” or rape, and other crimes. Society and our culture raise us to idolize these people and to love them unconditionally. Everyone seems to come to an athletes aid when problems arise, this is becoming increasingly natural, as they continue to get in trouble, and continue to face little or no punishment. Women are treated horribly especially when it comes to celebrities, athletes, and others. They are viewed as items and disposable. Now, this woman’s story about Ben Roethlisberger does have its flaws. Why didn’t she file a criminal complaint, why not come forward sooner? Questions, that aren’t answered. Are the accusations true? Who knows, but we cannot also not forget that there are some out to get money and fame. Some people love being the center of attention and creating drama. Taking advantage of someone with fame and fortune, is low and shows no motivation to do things the right way. I wish people’s status, profession, and other factors were not included when they are dealt with judicially. Those factors having nothing to do with the case or the facts being presented. It is irrelevant information, when it comes to law and the way it should be administered. Now, the interesting thing is we don’t see this happen in reverse with female athletes. What is the reasoning behind that? Is it different because there is some sort of double-standard? Women seem very quick to scream “rape”, when we never hear it from men. The comments are obviously from outrageous people who don’t know the facts, or have a serious bias. Later on she says she will drop the charges if Roethlisberger will make a public apology. Obviously if he was guilty, he would take that offer. I do feel he is being attacked because of who he is. The scary thing is we don’t hear about real stories of rape, because it’s a scary topic. Nobody wants to talk about it, but it is ok to talk about when a celebrity is involved. I’ll admit, I draw conclusions very quickly. It is a flaw, and I seem to rest of preconceived notions without any facts or actual reasoning. I think this happens to most people, it is a hard change to make. We don’t want to question ourselves and our thinking. It’s a very scary thing to do, question what you know and why. I guess that’s why we should face the fear and look deeper for the answers.
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In response to the Big Ben rape video clip and comments, I feel that it is hard for anyone to determine exactly what happened in a case like this. However, I do think that in this particular case I would side with Ben. It does not make sense that someone would wait that long (I believe that it said two weeks) to report a rape, especially with the excuse of being fired from her hotel job. If she really was raped and reported it right away she could have received far more money in the lawsuit than she makes from her job in a year. This would provide for her for some time and if she did get fired immediately she could have also collected unemployment until the case was settled. Then, if she did get the money (i.e. Ben was guily and she wins) that four hundred thousand she won would have certainly held her over until she found a new job, leading me to believe that this was not a true concern of hers. So, based on that alone, I fail to see any logic in her thinking, which further leads me to believe that she has no case against Ben.
In response to Sam’s comment about being unsure and all of that, how can you blame someone else for your lack of communication? “Please consider the following: imagine how you might engage in unwanted sex (i.e., be “assaulted”) but not immediately say anything because you are trying to convince yourself that what just happened didn’t really happen, that it was really consensual, that you enjoyed it, that it’s not a big deal, and so on.” I disagree, almost completely. I do not think there was any evidence of Ben “assaulting” her and dragging her into his hotel room. She probably went in there on her own accord planning on doing what they did. Upon getting in there with Ben, if she was “unsure” she should have said something. So please consider this: imagine that you cannot read minds and your having sex with this girl, she does not say stop, or no, or you’re raping me and I’m going to call the cops in two weeks. What would you have done (remember you can’t read minds in this scenario)? The fact that she went in there with him without being physically assaulted or anything, as in she went in on her own accord, and they got going, and she did not say anything, or communicate any discomfort or doubt, I feel cripples her credibility. Couple that with the fact that she waited two weeks to report it and her only excuse was she would have lost her job, when the winnings of the lawsuit and the unemployment she could have collected would have provided for her (probably better than what her job was getting her), and her credibility is destroyed.
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While I am a complete supporter or professional sports, I definitely think that professional male athletes are often treated differently then the average man when it comes to crime. In criminal accusations, especially those involving sexual assault, professional athletes are given special consideration whether they are or are not proven guilty. The recent sexual assault case involving Ben Roethlisberger and a Harrah’s hotel employee is a prime example of this special consideration. However, they real issue in this article, youtube video, and the responses to the video is the fact that women who come forward are often criticized and mistreated because of the public’s opinion of the athletes they are accusing. I definitely do believe that people are innocent until proven guilty, however I think the women in these situations should be given that same right. As soon as a woman comes forward about a sexual assault case against a man who is a public figure, she is automatically called a liar, a gold digger, a whore, and the list goes on. Why is it that there can be such a double standard between men and women in these situations? When Kobe Bryant was accused of a similar crime, he was able to avoid criminal consequences, and the only person who walked away scathed in any regard was the young girl who was brave enough to come forward. I am however hesitant to use the word “truth” in any way regarding these situations because, for the most part, no one knows the truth about any of the incidents. Most of these cases are settled outside of court, which leads me to believe that there is some truth behind the claims the women have made. If there were no evidence to support their arguments, would all of the accused men be scared to prove their innocents in court?
In the article, the double standard was reinforced by the story of Katie Hnida, the female football player who accused a teammate of sexual assault, and was, in return, criticized and defamed. This specific case highlights this point, as clearly the two parties involved were “on the same level” and therefore she could not have been using her accusations as a way to get ahead. I think that each sexual assault case, regardless of the status of the involved parties should be regarded in a serious manner, and should not be thrown out based on the public’s opinion of those involved.
The responses to the youtube video, at the end of Sam’s post, are especially alarming because they came from people who have no real insight into the case. The people responsible for the responses should make sure they have some factual evidence regarding the case before they publically vent about their favorite athletes.
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The author of “Sports Misogyny and the Court of Public Opinion” may not have written a balanced article, but her voice is a whisper when compared to the thousands that support “sports misogyny,” regardless of whether they do so intentionally or unintentionally. It seems that the topic is more prevalent than we care to notice. On Penn State’s own campus, for example, the situations that Friedman recounted have in fact occurred. Two years ago football player Austin Scott was charged with rape. Everywhere you went in State College someone had opinion. Based on my personal encounters, most people felt strongly that the woman had slept with Scott consentingly and then filed the rape charge to relieve her shame. Regardless of what actually occurred, the point that Fiedman is trying to make, and I believe she does so successful, is exemplified. Few people considered that Scott might in fact be guilty. Instead, they jumped to the conclusion that not only was it the woman’s fault, but she was not in fact the victim, Scott was.
The comments responding to the Ben Rothlesberger rape charge are also quite disconcerting. A particular comment that struck me was: “This is a bunch of Crap! This was a casual encounter at best between a man and a woman that lead to more. He did nothing wrong but be a popular athlete and she is a gold digger! How lame is that, I was “raped” but I wont report it to police because I’m afraid the casino will fire me…” The author of this comment is not only incredibly insensitive to the potential truth of the situation, but speaks like he or she knows what happened that night. He or she says defiantly: “This was a casual encounter…He did nothing wrong…” Truthfully, the only way that this writer would know what happened if is he or she had been there throughout the night. And, I’m guessing he or she was not, because I believe they would have mentioned that fact in their post once or fifty times.
These injustices are not without some motivation. I am confident that there are woman in the world that do take advantage of their position as women and “cry wolf.” Perhaps they file a false charge against someone with the motivation of money, fame, or revenge. Since these cases do exist, it is not fair to immediately hate the men that are accused. This, I think, is also difficult for some. Individuals like to see black and white instead of shades of grey. He’s right or she’s right. It is hard to wait for the courts to make the decision since that can be many months. Months of not knowing, of not having someone to blame, having no one to take out their anger on, and having no one to support or rally behind is torture. Imagine if Perez Hilton posted on his blog, “Jane Smith filed a rape charge against Cole Hammels today. I am angry at one of the two individuals, and I feel very sorry for the other. Let’s now wait for a few months to decide which feeling to associate with which person.” No. That, I feel, would not go over well with the public because the public needs to have its opinion.
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The one thing that strikes me about this video right away is that it is a civil suit and not a criminal trial. Civil suits differ from criminal cases in that in a criminal case you must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt (the entire jury must decide on a verdict), civil suits only need a majority of the jury to get a conviction. Because sometimes crafty lawyers can paint a sympathetic story and get juries to side with them, it is sometimes easier to leverage a deal before trial and get people who do not deserve compensation money and I think that may be what is happening here. She decided against going to the police or security because she was afraid that she wouldn’t win a criminal case but decided much farther down the road to file a civil suit which makes her motives suspect.
Rape is a very emotionally traumatizing event and I could understand how one could be worried about facing their assailant and not want to proceed with a trial but often this happens farther down the road. I feel very badly for anyone who legitimately is afraid of their rapist and doesn’t want to risk running into them again but this seems to be the minority. It seems the only times this happens is when people don’t tell friends who could push them in the right direction of taking action. Some people when they are raped are so distraught that they are afraid to even tell their close friends or relatives. Not having the support of friends and family can make it harder for people who have been raped because they sometimes need that support to proceed with a criminal investigation because it can be difficult to relive the event.
If this woman was raped I feel terribly for her and the only reason people are suspicious is because she waited. If someone goes to the police right away it becomes quite apparent what happened because they didn’t have time to think about what happened, they know what happened was wrong so they are taking the steps to fix it. The other reason I’m suspicious of this woman is because all she wants is an apology and a donation to a charity that supports raped woman. Again, rape is extremely emotionally traumatizing. No real reparation can bring someone back to before the event happened, especially not just an apology. Anyone who was raped normally would be very less than satisfied with an apology. If she is really that selfless that she wants just a donation to support other raped women then I commend her. However, I know woman who have been raped and I know that they will never feel better about what happened and an apology and a donation would really downplay the seriousness of the event and be an insult.
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When rape accusations surface dealing with athletes most people assume that the women are gold diggers. The interesting detail about the Ben Roethlisberger’s case is that the women said she would drop all of the charges if he would admit that he raped her. Most of the people that I know really think that the woman is guilty. I also thought she was guilty until she said she would drop all of the charges if Big Ben admits to raping her. I think that she proved that she is not in it for the money by making this bold statement. She was also able to silence a lot of people by making this statement. I really must commend this woman for standing up for what she believes in. I am sure she was traumatized after she realized that she was raped by a superstar athlete. One of my good friends was raped and she couldn’t even tell her parents after it occurred. This is why I think she didn’t report the incident to authorities.
Ben Roethlisberger is following the trend of most athletes. It seems that every year a new rape allegation arises and no one is sure if there was proper consent. Everyone assumes that the woman is a gold digger. In the case dealing with Kobe Bryant I thought that the white woman was a gold digger. Kobe Bryant had similar rape accusations brought up against him. It is very difficult to know who is lying in the situation. Kobe was able to walk free and to reconcile things with his wife he bought her a 1.4 million dollar ring. I really think that it is sad that athletes cheat on their wives and cause problems in their respective homes.
In the past most athletes that are charged with rape usually escape with a slap on the wrist and are able to walk free. I think that people have to realize that athletes have a lot of money and are able to hire a very good legal team. Lawsuits are very expensive to file and I don’t think the rape victims have enough money to hire a legal team that rivals that of the athletes. It seems like when an athlete commits a crime there is a double standard. I can only remember two athletes that were rightfully punished for their actions were with Plaxico Buress and Michael Vick. Plaxico carried a loaded and unlicensed gun into a club and shot himself in the leg. Plaxico is currently serving 2 years in prison for this. Michael Vick was imprisoned for dog fighting and was released early this year.
By the way I’m an Eagles fan and go PHILLIES.
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First of all, in response to Sam’s side note about the comments left by other students…I absolutely agree. It is so ridiculous that this is what people are saying about this girl. Rape is not something to joke about. I have taken many psychology classes and have learned that rape is something that will destroy you emotionally. It isn’t something you can just go around telling people, it’s an extremely embarrassing thing. People have to remember that certain people handle things differently. Say she was raped, she may not want to go to the police and handle the situation in that way so she figured the hotel security is a much safer and more personal bet. You can’t judge her if you haven’t been in that situation so for people to respond, both in the class and on YouTube, that “she wanted it” and it’s just a call for attention is bullshit.
However, looking at the actual situation it is always a sad thing when something like this comes up. Rape is a very hard thing to prove, especially when alcohol is involved. This article didn’t say whether or not alcohol was a factor, but either way when alcohol is a factor than it makes rape a lot harder to prove. Either way no means no and for this to even be an issue is a problem. So there is another question…if this were not a famous football quarterback would there even be an issue? The factor that a celebrity is involved in this issue makes for an interesting argument. Celebrities and the law are two things that either mix very well or very poorly. You have people like Eminem, T.I., Lil’ Wayne, and Lil’ Kim who get caught and serve their time in jail. But you also have people like Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton, Martha Stewart, and R. Kelly who have either gotten out early or who have not been found guilty when the majority of people think they should have been found guilty. But even celebrities get special treatment in jail, T.I. just came out with a new song and he’s still in jail. This would never happen with some Joe Schmo. So in the case of Roethlisberger the issue of him being a quarterback with multiple Superbowls under his belt may be an issue. However, this is something we will never truly be able to study because no other situation will be quite like this one.
But say this girl is faking it and she willingly had sex with Roethlisberger and is now just after some of his money. Yeah, that sucks. However, we still shouldn’t call her a stupid, fucking whore. Yes he is innocent until proven guilty, but at the same time she is screaming rape and this is something that the police need to investigate. Like the article said, it is a felony and if she is lying than she will be charged and we just have to have faith that our Criminal Justice System is developed enough so that we don’t have to worry about whether she is lying or not.
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I have never had a friend or family member “come out of the closet.” This is not to say that I have never meant a gay person, but I have never had a meaningful relationship with someone who is. Because I have never experienced someone do it and have no knowledge myself what it is like, I feel like I know very little about it. I feel like it must be a very difficult thing to do. Society seems to condition people to think that it is weird and wrong just because it is different. To me there is little difference between being a gay person and anyone else, they just have different likes and dislikes. Its hard to say with any certainty, but I would assume that most actual gay people are not anything like how they are portrayed in the media. I doubt that are overly feminine, or into fashion. Most likely they are just like everyone else but society tells us to look at them funny. I have found in my like that being gay is always something that people just do not talk about. Because of the fact that no one seems to talk about it, to actually find someone who is can be a completely new experience and things that are new can seem frightening or strange. Growing up I have learned basically next to nothing about the gay community, or homosexual lifestyles, which I suppose just means that there is nothing all that different about their way of life. Anything you heard about gay people growing up was that it is wrong or different. Its also pretty funny (or horribly discriminatory depending on your point of view) to realize the connotations that go along with the word gay, even though they should have nothing to do with it. In out society it seems like gay means being a loser, quitter, or chicken before it actually means homosexual.
Though I will not pretend to be completely at ease on the subject (like I said I have little experience with it so I can not make many claims about it) I see no reason why two people of the same sex should not be allowed to be married and raise a child. There is no reason why two people who love each other should not be allowed to spend the rest of their like together and furthermore here is no reason that two competent individuals should not be able to successfully raise a child.
Today’s society seems to try to alienate gay people. Almost as if to say if we ignore it long enough maybe it will go away. Well obviously it is not going away and if anything the gay community appears to becoming stronger. Clearly more is need to be done to educate people about it much like more is needed to be done to teach people about race relations.
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I had heard this story on ESPN and have heard similar stories like the one involving Kobe Bryant. The Kobe Bryant became a large-scale story since how much respect he gets as an NBA player so the allegations were highly publicized. In this incident I was on the side of Kobe believing the girl was just a dumb “whore” who had sex with Kobe Bryant and knowing his status tried to take advantage of a rare situation. She knew who he was and wanted to get some money out of it knowing there was a good chance she could get away with it. But reading this article and thinking about it more closely she could have been abused, an ego like Bryant’s could lead him to just take advantage of her and expecting her to just be ok with it because of who he is. He could easily get away with something like this, some normal girl would dream to be with someone like Kobe Bryant or Ben Rothlesburger but really is it like that? Just because they are star athletes doesn’t mean they’re not human, but being star athletes they are put on a different scale. Even if these women were in some way raped and try and get justice who is going to believe them? People are going to call them gold diggers just trying to get large out side settlements from these iconic individuals. Maybe they are, if I was to be raped I wouldn’t want the money but more so the justice. But thinking about it more how much money would do justice? Maybe these women were in it for the money or the money just made them feel better. These athletes have so much money an individual harming their status can just be easily paid off so the negative spotlight is dropped and the fact they scored 42 points against the bulls or threw a winning touchdown can be praised once again and the idea of being a rapist dropped as quick as it was addressed. I don’t personally know if they were sexually abused but I also know others don’t know either. That’s why if anything people shouldn’t call these possible rape victims whores when no one really knows. If these women feel they were unfairly treated and want justice they should follow through with it as if they were raped by any other individual. When these women try to get outside settlement knowing that athletes will pay to get their negative voice muted it becomes very suspect to what their motive is money or justice.
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This story is actually a pretty interesting one to me. I have to say that I am a pretty big football fan, and I am an even huger fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, I say this because I may be a little biased in that regard. However, with that being said in my opinion, I really do feel like a lot of women can very easily lie about things like this just so that they can either get famous, or get a little bit of money. This has happened a lot of times women have even accused celebrities such as Bill Cosby, a man known for his extensive family values, of sexual assault. Don’t get me wrong just because someone is famous doesn’t mean that they are totally innocent and that they can never do anything like that. A lot of times when people see a celebrity they see them in a positive light, sometimes as a role model, and they may feel as if they know that person, when indeed they don’t. Owen Wilson for example is very much known for his comedy films such as Wedding Crashers, Zoolander, etc.; because of this he is general perceived to be a happy fun loving guy, but a few years ago many people were very shocked when they found out that he had attempted to committed suicide. Proving that sometimes you think that you may know a person, but you really may not. Yet the situation with Ben Roethlisberger is very different, and there are some unanswered questions here. First off, when you are a young rich celebrity and a very well known major NFL player, you typically get the top pick when it comes to women; an example of this would be the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s marriage to Gisele Bündchen, one of the most well known supermodels in the world. So why, if you were Ben Roethlisberger, a young famous good looking guy who could have any girl he wants, would you want to try and rape a random hotel clerk? At the same time however, there are unfortunately some people who do enjoying raping others just for the fun of it, and just because you see someone on TV, does not mean you actually know them. Yet, it is coincidental that even though this alleged sexual assault happened in 2008, the woman actually waited until after the Steelers had won the super bowl to file this lawsuit. Now I do understand that in many cases of rape the victims do try and convince themselves that nothing happened, and sometimes that they even enjoyed it, but why wait so long to issue a complaint? To a lot of people it seems like this woman just wants more attention thrown at her because they had just won the super bowl.
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I don’t think that this guy is necessarily racist, but I don’t agree with his decision either. This is a couple, a man and a woman, who want to get married. I’ve never read any legislation on the matter (for heterosexual couples) but I always assumed that if two people want to marry in our country they’re allowed to do so. This guy cites that it’ll be tougher for the couple’s kids to get by in life because they’ll be of mixed ancestry, and he’s right. His concern with that regard is probably completely justified; it can be really hard for mixed kids in the world, which is unfortunate. But just like anyone else who’s ever dealt with racism, those kids are going to have to learn to deal with these issues just like other minority groups.
Of course, I’m a white person. I’ve never really been hated on by anybody because of my race, other than some playful ribbing by some black friends. I have no idea what it’s like to be discriminated against, since I’ve lived in a majority white environment for almost my entire life (I really can’t think of a single time where I was actually in the vast minority for more than a few hours, which I find to be kind of alarming). So my opinion isn’t of the highest value with regard to this situation. But I think that the only way to destroy the divisions between us is to increase the amount of exposure we all (different races) get to one another, and to be okay with said exposure. Before I met any black people I never really had any opinion about them. After I met them I was, honestly, kind of afraid of them (that’s something I’ve never really put into words before). Then throughout high school I started making black friends, and having them over to my house, and learning that the skin color difference really didn’t make any difference. Then I learned that the statement at the end of my last sentence was totally wrong. It might not seem like there’s any difference from my point of view, but since I started taking SOC 119 my perspective on race has totally changed. I never really understood just how different the worldview is for black and brown people compared to white people and it makes me a little sad and a little angry/unsettled that this entire race of people starts out so far behind mine.
The last paragraph was really off-topic with regard to the post but I feel like I had to qualify where exactly my position on race relations is at the moment. I can understand this man’s sentiment that he doesn’t think that these people should bring a child into the world. But really, that’s not his decision to make and he (like me) has no idea what it’s really like to be a mixed child. Ironically, before I took SOC 119 I would have called this man a racist, but now I can understand why he doesn’t want these people to get married. I still disagree with his decision, I don’t think it’s okay. But like Sam said in the class on ethnocentrism, I don’t agree with it, but I understand it.
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Sorry Sam, I posted the wrong response there, here’s the right one:
This journal entry is written in regard to the post Sam made about the woman filing a suit against Ben Roethelisburger. Initially when I heard about it (the whole rape story) I was one of the people that that author talks about in her article. Whatever, money grubbing woman trying to take advantage of a famous and well-thought-of football player. I never thought of it in the way that Sam described in his post. In fact I rarely even thought of it at all, mainly because I happen to watch ESPN a lot and ESPN decided that Brett Favre’s current job status was way more important and completely stopped reporting on the situation. I never even found out what happened with this case before reading Sam’s post and the subsequent links that he included in the article.
I didn’t like that article very much, the one that was included in the blog post. I felt that it was very subjective and that it came down rather harshly on pro athletes. It seemed to me like the author was attempting to say that women never attempt to take advantage of professional sports athletes’ high salaries and the various other perks of being famous. For example, the Kobe Bryant fiasco of a few years ago was a case in which the woman (who had had sex with other people than just Kobe that night) was attempting to take advantage of her situation. I’m not saying that this is always the case, of course, but there are occurrences like this on both ends of the spectrum.
I don’t really see how anyone can tell, or make any judgment whatsoever about this case though (or most cases like this for that matter). It reminds me to Michael Jackson’s troubles. The media has way to much power in situations like this, whatever they say seems to translate directly into the majority of the public opinion. I personally don’t believe that Michael touched those kids, but who can really ever know what happened. The problem with situations like these is that they’re extremely private, I never want people watching me having sex and most people are the same way. Sex is a private act for the vast majority of people, and the only ones who know what really happened (and sometimes this doesn’t even apply) are the two people who are actually having sex with one another. None of us will ever really know the truth of what happened as long as both the woman and Big Ben are disagreeing on what actually happened.
Do I think that sports athletes are more glorified, sexually, than they should be? They probably are. But circumstances like these are so difficult to judge effectively when there’s no way of proving what happened. I’m not going to pass judgment either way, because I have that luxury. However, I think that the people passing judgment on YouTube, especially the ones who’s comments Sam posted in the blog, are out of line. Some of the things they said about this poor woman, whether she was raped or had consensual sex, are despicable. There aren’t many things that piss me off more than people hiding behind the cloak of Internet anonymity, and using their advantage to say terrible, disgusting things that they would normally never say to someone’s face.
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All too often pro athletes get in trouble with the law, and seem to slip away with a slap on the wrist. It can be seen in every league and every sport, but it seems that it most often occurs in pro football with NFL players. Look at even the most recent cases. Star wide receiver Donte Stallworth killed a man while driving under the influence and got 30 days in jail. Former Penn State star running back and current Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has faced multiple battery charges, but every week is on the field and never gets any serious punishment. Another case has arisen recently; star Super Bowl quarterback Ben Roethlisberger gets charged of rape. Although I don’t usually take the side of the superstar in court cases, I have to say I would defend Roethlisberger in this case.
After reading the article and seeing various reports on this case, I think it is eerily similar to the cases of Austin Scott, Kobe Bryant, and even the Duke Lacrosse players’ sex scandal. In each case, a woman has come forth claiming sexual abuses and is looking for a large sum of money. This is fine in my opinion, as long as justice is carried out. In each of these previous cases, however, the defendants have been found innocent or charges were dropped after a large sum of money was paid to either quiet or close the case. The reason I think that these players are found innocent is because the women don’t care whether or not the men are found guilty, it seems they just want money out of the situation. Think of this… if you were seriously abused, sexually abused nonetheless, would a half million really satisfy you? Or would you not stop until this heinous person was put behind bars? Again, this is only my opinion, but I think the woman would not want to stop until her assailant was locked up.
I am obviously not saying that these men were all innocent, but I honestly do not think they were guilty for the crimes they have been charged, and I don’t think Roethlisberger is either. I believe that this woman saw a draw to sleep with a professional athlete. Whatever the case may be, whether she was not fully aware of what she was doing or intoxicated at the time, I think she felt remorseful after it had happened, panicked, and cried wolf as these other women have done in the past. Again, it is impossible to know either way what the motives were in these past cases, but no rape was ever proven, and I don’t think it will be in this case either.
It is sad to know that because you are an idolized figure of society you can get away with murder (sometimes, literally). However, it is also sad to see cases in which careers and lives are ruined due to the ill advised actions of seemingly battered women. This case is extremely touchy because of the nature of the charges and those involved, and I hope whether guilty or innocent the truth comes out and justice is served.
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Hello!
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I found it absurd that the women’s employer told her that “most girls would feel lucky to get to have sex with someone like Ben Roethlisberger”. Then her employer goes on to try to cover up the issue, probably solely based on him being famous and all I would guess is wrong. Just because he is famous, does not mean that every girl wants to be on him or have a chance to have sex with him. So many people think this and I do not believe it is true. I love the Pittsburgh Steelers and even if this article is true or not, I still find it disappointing and I am sure other fans feel the same way.
I hate gossip blogs and for those who called the woman a lying golddigger are just trying to blend in with the rest of the crowd. Comments against the victim such as “Oh she wanted it, or he would never do that” all fall into the assumptions people make when an athlete or someone else famous are accused of rape. Everyone assumes that because he is famous that this woman is lying about being raped. It sucks because I do not know if she was, I was not there but either was anybody else except for the two of them. It seems to me that every time someone is famous is accused of rape or something of that manner, they are always innocent. But when it comes down to an every day person raping a woman that person should go to jail forever or that act was so wrong. It is such a hypocritical topic and brings about a lot of controversy on the issue.
In one of the blogs someone wrote, “This is a bunch of Crap! This was a casual enounter at best between a man an a woman that lead to more. He did nothing wrong but be a popular athlete and she is a gold digger! How lame is that, i was “raped” but i wont report it to police because im afraid the casino will fire me, HAVE A SPINE AND STAND UP FOR YOURSELF IF ITS TRUE” First off, the people who made comments about the video were obviously highly uneducated. Half of the postings do not make any sense and I do not think they even know what they are talking about. They were not in the hotel room at the time so therefore should keep their negative comments to themselves.
As for the sports reporter Erin Andrews and the peeping-tom videographer who got footage of her in what she believed was the privacy of her hotel room walking around naked claiming she did this to get ahead as a sportscaster, unreal. Not a feminist at all, but I feel as though women are targeted more for their actions.
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The issue with Ben Roethlisburger and the woman he allegedly raped is a complicated one. I am a male so my view is naturally skewed and biased. I do however think that there are some women in this world who are golddiggers. This is a fact. Women do use sex as a weapon to get money from high profile males like athletes and celebrities. An example of this was the Duke Lacrosse kids and their stripper. Also athletes are given the benefit of the doubt most of the time because of their on the field accomplishments. Big Ben is a two-time Superbowl winner and MVP, therefore the sports world is going to take his side. These people are biased, and most of them are men who like sports therefore there are an extreme amount of bias in their viewpoints.
I do not have the hatred towards this woman as many others do, but it also could be because I hate the city of Pittsburgh and like when things go wrong there. I am skeptical however why she did not go to the police right away. I know it is hard, but this is the only time things can be proven, and especially with high profile athletes she is going to be villainized in the eyes of the public. Athletes are definitely able to get away with more than the common person. This is a fact and whoever disputes this is an naïve imbecile. This however does not give them the right to do anything they want. Including raping women. The idea of raping someone is hideous, and it sickens me that it crosses these athletes minds because they know they would be able to get away with it.
The athletes need to watch their back, and should not be tied up in doing stupid things. People are always going to be out for their money and need to watch out for this. They do not have the right to rape women and use them to their advantage. This is savage thinking and goes back to caveman times. Big Ben probably did something wrong in that room, but to blame everything on him is probably wrong. There is a good chance the women led him on. I was not there so I have no idea, but that is what I think. This case reminds me much of the Kobe Bryant case, where he was in trouble for raping a woman in Colorado. He basically just paid the woman to go away, and then just bought his wife back with an enormous diamond ring. It must be fun to be an athlete to do that. But he should not have raped that woman and justice was never served.
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When I saw the article “Men of the World Unite…Before it’s too late”, the title itself Angers me. As a young woman I feel like this title is kind of the reverse of feminism. Concerning this article I don’t really get much accurate information from it. The article is almost making the reader actually choose a side however with the information given you don’t really know who side to take. I am the type of person that unless I am given concrete evidence of the action I will not believe it. Yes, the female says she was rape, but I don’t really know if she was actually rape or she gave consent when it came to sexual intercourse. From the side of the athlete I don’t know if he is or is not guilty. Even though he denies it I don’t really know what to believe. Regarding this whole issue it is sad that there are people leaving their comment on a webpage with such negative connotation towards a female. Why is it necessary to leave such words? Clearly these individuals only believe what they want to. They have already chosen a side. Apparently they haven’t stopped to see both side of the problem. I just believe that there is no need for a negative connotation like “bitch, whore, etc”. I wonder if by calling this female a name of this type makes them feel better.
I don’t really know what to think about this whole problem. Why didn’t this lady report it to the corresponding authorities? I do understand that she is a victim. Sometimes victims don’t openly tell authorities about this type of problem because they might feel shame or embarrassed that this happen to them. However, I think that if she had the courage to tell the security of the hotel, she must have the same courage to tell the corresponding authorities. From the athlete’s side, I don’t really know what to think. At times things like these do happen and the athlete may be guilty, but again I think is not a good idea to generalize. Just because someone did something wrong it doesn’t mean that everyone else is the same way and will act like the others.
Going back to the comments left by these individuals I think that is really sad how quickly people take sides without looking at the real evidences. Worse yet how people quickly decided to comment negatively and use words to negatively describe people. Why is it necessary to call a female a “whore” or a “bitch”? I wonder if that makes the person feel more of a person. Overall I think that before concluding anything people should inform themselves and even after that there is no need for calling an individual strong negative words that only show the lack of intelligence and the ignorance the individual making the comment has.
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This blog made me agitated; sometimes I think that the America people view on reality is very twisted. It has gotten to the point in this country where nobody has a fair voice and favoritism always decide the victors of a debate. In a rape case, it is hard to come to a judgment on weather or not rape has occurred because decision are not made by physical evidence (that if extreme physical force didn’t occur) but by determining if consent was ever made between the two parties. Many American have already make their decision without hearing the full details to the story. I believe all of the people who made these remarks/ accusations about the woman are far out of their place. I also think that the tone of the writer for the article was completely inappropriate. The writer is making his/her story have a side, which makes gravitate to the side of the super star
American are so big on their superstar, we believe that they represent the perfection that most people cannot obtain. We forget that they are human and can easily make the mistakes that ordinary people make. Just because a person meets someone famous doesn’t mean that are willing to have sex with that person. When people hear that their favorite athlete, someone they look up too, is involve in a case where it might be a possibility that they did something wrong wrong people automatically put on defense mode. They try to come up with every reason not to believe that their hero did not break the law so they target the other person which in the case was the assaulted women. I think that people should take a step back and look at the situation from outside. They should gather the facts that they have and try and be rational about what happened and act mature enough to have a open mind for the situation.
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Women in history have been taught that if we are raped or sexually assaulted then we must have “deserved” what we got. We were too much of a tease or lead the men on. I have met some women who have dressed inappropriately and led herself to look like a slut – but it does not mean that she would deserve to be raped. I think there are two issues in dealing with a hot topic like this. If people can be trusted and the celebrity status and the protection that comes with it.
I have to admit when I first read the article I was disgusted by the thought of some big football player thinking he owned the place and doing whatever he wanted. Then I realized I needed to take a step back and consider that the woman could have been falsely accusing him for money. It is common for people to do things just for publicity or money. I think the problem facing this woman is his celebrity status – if this were another case with a non celebrity he would been locked up or punished. Women in this circumstance will have a very difficult time defending themselves and showing evidence because of the celebrity status and all that comes with it. I think this has been a problem for a long time because women are too afraid to come up against this type of problem. Not the rape – but everything that comes with the spot light and celebrity issues. If I were in her shoes, I do not know if I would have the energy or patience to deal with this kind of problem. If it is true, then she is doing a wonderful job to stop it from happening again. When we live in a society where women are possessions and not people this is a hot topic.
In reference to the youtube commentaries. I say that those people can shove it. Those people were not there. They did not experience any of the incident and they need to shut their mouths. This could have been their sister, neighbor, or mother that this occurred to. YouTube comment people annoy me anyway because people think they can say whatever they want and hide behind computers – it really annoys me! I do not think we will ever know what truly happened inside of that hotel room but If I had to guess I would say that Ben went too far. It is not my decision though and hopefully a judge would find evidence. I think that is the only way to the truth. Evidence. It is difficult to trust people regardless male or female v Celebrity or non celebrity.
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Ok, so as an avid eagles fan, and inherent Steelers hater it is really easy for me to blast Ben Roethlisberger and call him a rapist and a jerk. So I’m already a little biased against him, I’d love to have him be a rapist, it would definitely be a horrible thing, and a big shot to Pittsburgh sports. Then again, it would also mean that a woman got raped and that is not a good thing.
So it leaves me at a sort of a dilemma, actually, it really doesn’t I hope Big Ben is not a rapist. I hope the sex he had with that girl was consensual and that she is just lying and trying to rip him off, but is that true? Who are we going to believe, a two time super bowl winner, or some random girl in Las Vegas? Just like in the article about Israeli dudes and Arab women, the men are shaping the rules, and are seemingly more believable. So that’s where my thoughts are leading, I think the girl is lying, Ben won two super bowls, the guy could probably get any girl he wanted, he doesn’t need to rape anyone, what kind of woman would not want a guy of his notoriety? Then again what if she didn’t want sex, he’s a super bowl champ, that’s a big shot at his ego, he gets upset, he’s pretty big, she isn’t and he has his way with her. Just like Sam said, she probably tried to justify it, it was good for her, he’s famous, what a great story for her friends, besides she really enjoyed it! Lies, all lies, so she finally gets over all of these feelings and comes out and tells people, only to be lambasted by the media and all the men in the world, seemingly. What is she supposed to do? She is now seen as a gold digger, a girl who is willing to sleep with a profession athlete in order to extort some money, I really feel bad for her, because I do not know the truth, and I wish I did. I wish we lived in a society where we could take people at their word, someone said something, and it was true, no ifs ands or buts, but that is wishful thinking, and I’ll have to move on from that. Do you remember the movie “The Invention of Lying”? I didn’t get to see the movie, but it reminds me of that, no one’s word is good anymore, if a girl sleeps with a rich guy and says its rape she’s a whore, if an athlete rapes a girl, it was consensual. Our society sucks, I wish we could just be honest and move on with our lives.
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